N&P reported to have mis-sold investments

by Kay Mitchell

Norwich & Peterborough Building Society has been hit with claims of mis-selling of investments between 2006 and 2009.

The building society, which is Britain’s tenth largest, is expected to receive letters tomorrow from solicitors acting on behalf of 250 customers, demanding compensation for investment advice they received in the society’s branches about its Keydata products.

The claims have led to calls from thousands of its members for chief executive, Matthew Bullock, to step down.

Meanwhile, compensation is likely to run into tens of millions of pounds and threaten the mutual’s future.

Advisers at the building society sold 3,100 Keydata bonds to older, risk-averse savers, resulting in a total £3 million commission.

Regulatory Legal is representing 250 N&P Keydata investors but it is expecting hundreds more to sign up.

Gareth Fatchett of Regulatory Legal said: “These are complaints about N&P’s advice, which has exposed customers to excessive risk by putting huge proportions of their assets into a single, sophisticated investment.”